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Battery Question

toad451

toad451

Member
Yesterday I rode to work, got off the bike and left the switch on. When I came out to go home the battery was dead, totally dead. I got a jump start and then rode home and put it on the charger overnight. My question is, how resilient are these batteries? Did I ruin it by running it down so far? I'm going on a week long trip in a month and would rather replace it now than wait until I'm in the middle of nowhere and have to wait for someone to come get me.
 
A totally discharged battery will have a shorter overall life than one that hasn't been deeply discharged. It's still capable of giving service after a recharge but should be totally recharged after starting with cables before riding it (if you have to) so additional strain isn't put on the charging system. The charging system is built to maintain a charge and not to charge a dead battery.
 
Interesting bit of information.It takes aproximately 10-15 min. for the charging system to recharge a battery from a normal start-up under regular driving conditions.
 
I got it started drove straight home and then left the charger on it overnight. It fired right up today without much strain. Is there anyway to test it or am I just going to have to wait and see?
 
The fact that you're asking the question shows how concerned you are with this issue. No way would I leave on a week long trip with this gnawing at the back of my mind. A new battery would be cheap insurance for some peace of mind on an extended trip.
 
You can take it to any garage to have it load tested,Carquest does it N/C.
if it is the first time you have killed it I wouldnt worry about it
 
1+ for Steve, one deep discharge will not harm the battery if it is not left too long in this state, and promptly slow charged back up...overnight trickle charge is fine.

Somewhere along the way I read that multiple deep discharges, or overcharging or overheating a battery WILL weaken the binder that bonds the active plate material to the internal grids.
 
I friend of mine had some had some jumper cables and we jumped it off of is Geo Metro. It took about 5-10 minutes to get enough juice for it to turn over.

It's been cold and rainy here the last couple of days, so I'm going to see if it will start here in a little bit. If it turns over as usual I am not going to worry about it. If it struggles I'll probably start looking for a new battery. Thanks for all the input it is much appreciated.
 
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